Archive for September, 2007

Rocks are being to move in Zune land. A note on the Zune marketplace says that a four hour shut down was scheduled for 5 AM this morning. The downtime is said to be used to upgrade the Zune marketplace…

Folks, it’s Friday, and you know what that means. . . actually, we’ve had some new readers to this blog, so let me explain how it works: each Friday, I find music in MP3 blogs, and post links to my favorites. You, in turn, click through to the post, and load up your Zune with the free music. Sound awesome? Awesome:

• First up this week, Arjan Writes has a BabyShambles MP3. Sweet.


• Our very own Drea at ‘Generation has two Manu Chao tracks.


• Get this We Are Scientists track, over at Chromewaves. And while you’re there, get this track of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs covering Bjork. Which reminds me of this Simpsons quote: “And bring us your finest food stuffed with the second finest.”


• Brooklyn Vegan brings us two Black Lips tracks, recorded live.


• Download “The Opposite of Hallelujah” over at Stereogum. It’s by Jens Lekman, from Sweden. Stereogum also posts the video and says “It’s okay to swoon.” Is it? YOU decide.


• Gorilla vs Bear posts a new Caribou track. Sweet.


• What is it with awesome covers this week? Rockinsider brings us a track by Division Day, covering Sunny Day Real Estate.


• Spinner has a free MP3 download by The Boss. And by The Boss, I mean Bruce Springsteen (not J).


• You Ain’t no Picasso has two tracks from Black Before Red.


• Soul-Sides has two tracks from M.I.A., and two Kanye West MP3 snippets.


• More great acoustic music – check this Charlotte Hatherly song over at Fluxblog.


• And for hip hop fans out there, Different Kitchen has Lupe Fiasco feat. Matthew Santos


• Ok, I suppose I can squeeze in another amazing cover and then wrap it up – Aquarium Drunkard has Built to Spill covering Neil Young.

Ok enjoy the free music and have a great weekend!

In the spirit of a continual two way conversation, I want to say that I’ve read each and every comment on the site (even the troll ones I’ve moderated). I’m glad to have a place where the most vocal Zune community can share their candid thoughts – good, bad, and ugly.  A while ago I had said the recent announcement doesn’t change any of our plans – it doesn’t. We’re really confident about the lineup we’re building, and to the enhancements we’re bringing to gen 1 Zunes (no specifics to share right now). Until then, today is Friday, and my next post will contain a bunch of free music.

We’ve seen this Zune before, but we didn’t know it would become a limited edition of the Zune… Well, if you haven’t bought a Zune yet and like the pink color, you might want to rush (soon) to Urban Outfitter…

Tomorrow, dear blog reader, is the annual Microsoft company meeting. Hence, no posts. Stay tuned Friday for, you guessed it, New Music Friday.